andrew69 Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 hi ted my 1961 lwb 109 with a series3 cab and hi/cap pick-up.failed its mot today wasnt expecting so many things but i am a novice what do i know... nothing it seams, could anyone explain what they are talking about. 1.offside front intermediate drop arm insecure? 2.steering system has excessive free play detected at the steering wheel? (please advice how to begin to correct this). 3.offside front(chrome ball) steering pivot point has excessive play. (dangerous?). please suggest best way to solve. 4. brake peddle spongy. what will this be. there are 17 other points, 3 welding, 1 spring,shocks,wipers.these things i plan to do myself,save money. been looking through haynes and workshop books so may have learned some things but please your help or advice would be helpfull. i live in salford, manchester, does anyone know of local mechanic who knows his series 2s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 It sounds like your MOT centre aren't that familiar with land rovers. 1. I'd guess this is a loose bolt on the drop arm. Tighten the bolts, get a pry bar on it and see if you can make it move. 2. You can adjust the steering box in the O/S front wheel arch. Remove the box cover (you can see the steering box on the other side). underneath there is a lock nut and an adjusting nut. Loosen locknut, tighten adjusting nut and get someone to move steering from lock to lock. Continue to tighten adjusting nut until friction/tight spots appear in steering. Back off adjusting nut until friction/tightspots disappear and tighten locknut. It might be worth jacking up the front axle onto axle stands so you are not moving against the resistance of the tyres. It would be much easier to detect when its getting tight this way. There is always going to be some play. If they complain again, tell them that that's how it's meant to be. 3. I'm guessing the swivel pin. Jack up/axle stands etc, remove wheel. Two bolts on top of the swivel housing, remove, remove a shim refit (haynes for torque settings). Make sure you remove mud/crud first and be prepared for the contents of the swivel housing to drain onto the floor (if there is anything in them!). Refit wheel, wobble wheel top/bottom to check play is taken up. 4. Air in the brakes/old fluid. Bleed brakes as a starting point. If no improvement, drain entire system and refill with new fluid. Could also be a flexihose on the way out, but the MOT tester should have noticed this. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errol209 Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 It sounds like your MOT centre aren't that familiar with land rovers. There is always going to be some play. If they complain again, tell them that that's how it's meant to be. In fact the MOT rules are different for vehicles with steering boxes (like series and defender) compared to rack and pinion (like just about all normal tin boxes) - you are allowed more play on a landy. If it helps the disappointment levels, I was once threatened with a fail because the handbrake cables on my 2a were missing all the way back to the wheels.... I'd find your local independent land rover garage or parts shop (if you haven't already) and ask them to recommend a landy friendly MOT station. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew69 Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 thanks for your help and advice, got a top mechanic on board all welding done £100 bargain, back on monday to do the rest. found a place in brum that will refurbish/recon the steering box for £80 so for that price gonna go with it.got quoted £388 for new one. hoprfully up and running in two weeks. It sounds like your MOT centre aren't that familiar with land rovers. 1. I'd guess this is a loose bolt on the drop arm. Tighten the bolts, get a pry bar on it and see if you can make it move. 2. You can adjust the steering box in the O/S front wheel arch. Remove the box cover (you can see the steering box on the other side). underneath there is a lock nut and an adjusting nut. Loosen locknut, tighten adjusting nut and get someone to move steering from lock to lock. Continue to tighten adjusting nut until friction/tight spots appear in steering. Back off adjusting nut until friction/tightspots disappear and tighten locknut. It might be worth jacking up the front axle onto axle stands so you are not moving against the resistance of the tyres. It would be much easier to detect when its getting tight this way. There is always going to be some play. If they complain again, tell them that that's how it's meant to be. 3. I'm guessing the swivel pin. Jack up/axle stands etc, remove wheel. Two bolts on top of the swivel housing, remove, remove a shim refit (haynes for torque settings). Make sure you remove mud/crud first and be prepared for the contents of the swivel housing to drain onto the floor (if there is anything in them!). Refit wheel, wobble wheel top/bottom to check play is taken up. 4. Air in the brakes/old fluid. Bleed brakes as a starting point. If no improvement, drain entire system and refill with new fluid. Could also be a flexihose on the way out, but the MOT tester should have noticed this. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landy'd Gentry Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 I am always wary of many MOT centres as they seem to fail vehicles just to get the work. I am very fortunate to have a local independant garage who knows Land rovers very well, and never had a problem with them. I does help as they do look after the vehicle during the year, and will let me know what will need doing for the test before it's due. Saying that, it did fail this year, as it's 51 year old horn gave up the ghost on the way to the test. So a quick pop 'round to the autofactors next door sorted that one out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 thanks for your help and advice, got a top mechanic on board all welding done £100 bargain, back on monday to do the rest. found a place in brum that will refurbish/recon the steering box for £80 so for that price gonna go with it.got quoted £388 for new one. hoprfully up and running in two weeks. Are you sure that's for a series steering box and not a PAS steering box? There is very little in the series unit to go wrong. IIRC from when I was looking, £80 should buy you a new one...if you can get the old one out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 In fact: Linky The usual term is steering relay for a series unit rather than steering box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 James, you confused the hell out of me there Andrew, Series vehicles do have a steering box, it that lump near the bulkhead that the column goes into, the steering relay is something different and sits in the front chassis cross member, you can see both on this lovely pic here: Just thought it needed clarifying a little Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Yup, confused myself too. Thanks for clarification! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrfarmer Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 In fact the MOT rules are different for vehicles with steering boxes (like series and defender) compared to rack and pinion (like just about all normal tin boxes) - you are allowed more play on a landy. If it helps the disappointment levels, I was once threatened with a fail because the handbrake cables on my 2a were missing all the way back to the wheels.... I'd find your local independent land rover garage or parts shop (if you haven't already) and ask them to recommend a landy friendly MOT station. saying that my 90 once failed the MOT as the left and right hand brake worn't ballanced took a bit of explaning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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